GameON:Your attention please

Understanding a nation of gamers

Contents

1Introduction

4Chapter 2:

Understanding the gaming experience

6 18 20

2Chapter 1: The gamer

Chapter 3: Successful brand

integration

Chapter 4: The 3 Es of brand

integration

Epilogue

Select a chapter from below:

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IntroductionIt’s hard to hold someone’s attention. We live in a world full of distractions that are constantly seeking to steal our gaze. Yet attention is something we all crave and as marketers it is something we need to deliver. It was this thinking that led us to gaming, a medium unique in its ability to hold attention as well as drive interaction. So, what is it about gaming that makes it so engaging? Does it really hold potential for brands as an advertising medium?

In this paper, we share the findings of original research that we conducted toanswer these questions. The consumer research used innovative hybrid approaches, including qualitative, quantitative and biometric observations. Our insights show how brand integration opportunities can be evaluated using our Gaming Experience Map (GEM) and the “3 Es” brand integration hierarchy (Exposed, Embedded, Enhanced).

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The Gamer: A valuable audience for brands

Gaming clearly offers some unique characteristics as an advertising medium, one of which is the quality of the audience it reaches. Gaming as a whole is able to offer scale, valuable and targeted consumer segments and economies when reaching these groups. All of which put it on a par with, if not ahead of, many established media platforms

The scale of gaming

In March 2015, our futurePROOF survey told us that 52% of GB adults had played games in the last 4 weeks. By platform this broke down as: 28% mobile/tablet, 22% games consoles, 16% PC/internet, 16% social media/casual browser and 7% handheld consoles. At this total level, that puts gaming’s reach on a par with the established medium of magazines, (57% of GB adults read a magazine in the last month).

1 Source: Kantar Media - futurePROOF H1 20152 Source: Kantar Media - GB TGI 2015 Q2

1

52%

28%

22%

16%

16%

7%

played gamesin the last 4 weeks

Mobile/ Tablet

Breakdown

Gaming consoles

PC/Internet

Social media/browser

Handheld consoles

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3 Source: Kantar Media - futurePROOF H1 2015 with GB TGI merged data4 Source: Kantar Worldpanel based on Complete games – 52 w/e 15th March 2015

Economies of reach

Another important point we need to highlight is that gaming is not as fragmented as we might think. Kantar Worldpanel data shows that in the last year 32% of boxed console game sales were driven by the top 5 titles.

Targeted consumer segments

TGI audience profiles show these different gaming platforms reach distinct and high value audiences that can be elusive for marketers.

Clearly this is a market with huge potential for brands, if it can be made to work for them. That brings us to our next question, which is simply “can it?”

32%

in 2014......of boxed console game sales

were driven by the top 5 titles

Console players

of men aged 15–24

56%

played a console gamein the last 4 weeks

2x...as likely to agree that they wear designer clothes

Nearly...

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Understanding the gaming experience: A hybrid approach including biometrics

To properly understand gaming’s potential for brands we needed to better understand the gaming experience for players. Quantitative research gave us a broad understanding of gamers and their views. We conducted qualitative research to dive deeper into gamers’ conscious views and feelings, combining this with implicit biometric techniques (eye-tracking, galvanic skin response and facial coding) during gaming sessions to understand the unconscious physiological reactions to gaming

We selected these three biometric techniques for the combined insights they could deliver.

1. Eye-tracking-allows us to understand exactly where on screen our gamers are focusing their attention.

2. Galvanic Skin Response, measures the level of cognitive arousal our gamer is experiencing, so how much attention is being taken up.

3. Facial coding, in this instance was focused on smile moments to understand which elements of the gaming experience increased happiness.

2

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&

Our quantitative research was quite broad in scope, looking across platforms at different types of gamer. By contrast, our qualitative approach was case study led, focussing on players of Grand Theft Auto V and FIFA 15.

We also explored different gaming environments:

Home screen Solus play Multiplayer Social media channels

We were seeking to understand two things across these scenarios:

“What is the experience for the gamer?”

“Is this a valuable place for a brand to be?”

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3Successful brand integration: The importance of realism & ownership

Our research highlighted two dimensions for marketers to consider when integrating brands into any game or game-related environment – Realism & Ownership. These dimensions help us to predict the likely success brands will have

3.1 RealismThe first dimension, realism, is primarily concerned with brand integration to actual game play. Realism describes how closely the game attempts to replicate the real world. The more true to life the game appears, the easier it is for real-life brands of all types to integrate into it. When this is done well, it helps add to the immersive experience of the game, making brands a welcome inclusion for players.

GTA V- Gameplay screenshot

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Case study 1 - FIFA 15

FIFA 15 is a game that attempts to replicate the real experience of watching football, including the integration of brands in a variety of formats. That’s not to say you can put in any old brand, even in an open gaming environment like this - there are rules. An important rule to acknowledge is that some brand associations are sacrosanct. For example, the “Barclay’s Premiership” is an entrenched brand association, so changing this would break game immersion and detract from the experience for players. However, many in-game branding opportunities, like perimeter boards, do not have specific ingrained brand associations. As long as the inserted brands have a reasonable amount of category relevance (i.e. we might expect to see them in real football stadium), they are welcomed inclusions.

Case study 2 - Grand Theft Auto V

GTAV represents a hyper-real environment that currently includes parody brands rather than real world ones. Our gamers enjoyed this parody element so, although they did not wholly reject the idea of in-game advertising,

to simply switch all the parody brands to real ones would alientate them. Brand integration in GTA V would therefore require careful thought in terms of the types of brands to integrate and where to place them.

GTA V- Gameplay screenshot

FIFA 15- Gameplay screenshot

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Hitting the mark in gameplay: the optimum placement for brands: Observing gamer’s biometrics during actual play and speaking with them about their experiences identified that, during game play, there are clear moments that offer better opportunities for brands. These moments are when play slows or stops (for example cut scenes or informational screens) and gamers have a greater capacity to take in the whole environment.

Comparing GTA 5 and FIFA 15 on cut scene opportunities We used Kantar’s video coding technology Recognology to compare the volume of cut or informational screens in the two titles.This showed us that FIFA 15 has a relatively large number of these static/cut scene moments with around half of the “play” period we looked at qualifying as such. In contrast, GTA V showed a lot more action with only about a tenth of the “play” period we looked at relatively static.

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Example 1: Great brand standout in a lull in gamer arousal

Above is a screenshot of the footage retrieved from the biometric monitoring. The eye tracking trace reveals that one of our players has clearly noticed the branding on a perimeter board during a cut scene. The yellow timing point toward the bottom left shows this is a relative low point in terms of Galvanic Skin Response (GSR). GSR gives us a measure of arousal or stimulation, which in this context we interpret as engagement with the game.

A low GSR reading at this point implies that our gamer is less engaged with what is going on. In this instance play was relatively straightforward in the middle of the park, so was not overly taxing or exciting. The resultant lull in gamer arousal created an opportunity for great brand standout, as captured by theeye tracking.

Legend:

Eye-tracking Facial coding

Galvanic skin response (GSR)

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Example 2: Great brand standout now combined with gamer stimulation

In this second screenshot below we see the moment shortly after our gamer has narrowly defended his goal. Looking at our timing point, now centre bottom of the screen, we see a far higher level of arousal on the GSR scale. A strategy of timing brand integrations to be placed in cut scenes shortly after or during moments of intense jeopardy or opportunity ensures that they benefit from being more easily viewed when player engagement is high. The benefit to brands integrated into these scenarios is that they are more likely to be encoded into the player’s memory.

Legend:

Eye-tracking Facial coding

Galvanic skin response (GSR)

Legend:

Eye-tracking Facial coding

Galvanic skin response (GSR)

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3.2 OwnershipThe second dimension, ownership, has relevance across the whole gaming experience: home screen areas on the console, solus play, multiplayer play and social media channels. Ownership describes how private or open/public a game environment is perceived to be. The more public the space, the more welcome brands appear to be.

GTAV- Gameplay screenshot (by Delyth Angharad)

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The home screen: A personal space that still offers some specific opportunities

At first glance the home screen and loading screens appear easy wins for brand integration. Brands can be integrated here without impacting game play. There are loading, news, e-commerce screens that appear to offer good opportunities to communicate with consumers. Indeed in our quantitative research half of our gamers said this would be a good place for brands to be.Equally, our qualitative research showed that areas like the ‘What’s New’ screen (below) can have high levels of engagement. Furthermore, when considered as a retail environment, advertising was not deemed out of place.

Once again, there are brand rules to consider:

a. You don’t automatically have the right to be thereBrand activity that is not game-related would feel out of place in news areas like the one we see below. So, if you are not a ‘gaming brand’, it would be worth considering partnerships as a means to allay any perceived intrusion.

b. The start-up home screen is a very personal spaceMuch as would be the case with a PC desktop, the sight of an ad on first entering would feel like an intrusion.

c. Loading screens are not a point of focus They don’t appear to hold attention so don’t represent an optimal opportunity for brands. A brand integration that was perceived to extend the delay would be counterproductive.

The home screen has potential as an arena for brands to present themselves; however, the effectiveness of a brand integration would require precise tailoring of the activity and partnerships.

Legend:

Eye-tracking Facial coding

Galvanic skin response (GSR)

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We found Solus play to be the most common form of gameplay with 88% of gamers as a whole and 85% among console players playing alone in last 4 weeks.

There is an insular mentality to single player gaming, which is more story-led and personal to the individual player. Brand integrations are nevertheless possible in this environment and can be particularly effective where they

enhance player immersion. However, there appear to be greater benefits when engaging in a multiplayer environment involving interaction, competition, greater emotion and kudos.

GSR and joy metrics clearly show multi play to be the winner

In the screenshot below we see the point at which our gamer switches from the familiar solus play mode to more dynamic multiplay. Looking at the yellow timing point in the image, we can see that to the left the GSR levels are below the mid line and there is little evidence of smile reactions; to the right, both of these measures quickly rise.

88%of gamers played alone in the last 4 weeks

Solus VS multi-play: The more interactive we are, the more open gamers appear

/

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The multiplayer environment:

Console players had a multiplayer experience...

In the last 4 weeks...

Where solus play satisfies the gamer’s need for entertainment and relaxation, multiplayer offersa more dynamic experience. Brands embedded in this more interactive environment will succeed if they can enhance the game for players.

For example, by sponsoring tournaments or unlockable features that indicate players’ ability, they can start to add kudos to both themselvesand the players interacting with them.

...in person

All gamers

43%

...on the web

35%

Brand integration into games is considered a good idea by:

34%

42% 57%

A better fit for brands

Gamers who multiplayed in person ORon the web

Gamers who multiplayed in person ANDon the web

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A social environment: The most public spaces are the most accepted platforms for conventional advertising

Social channels such as YouTube or Twitch fulfil a number of roles for players: entertainment, skill development, review and even self-promotion

1/5

5%

30%

...of console gamersuse social channels in relation to games

...of users say they post content themselves

...of those that postedor watched the streamsfelt they were good places for brands

Facts on...

for gaming

SocialchannelsOur conversations with gamers uncovered a

great deal of pragmatism and openness to brand integrations in social channels focused on gaming. Our gamers acknowledged that engaging, professionally produced content, such as that from the new breed of “celebs” in this world like KSI or Angryjoe, needs to be paid for and that advertising was a way to fund its continued production. The lean back nature of social channels means advertising can afford to be more overt. This openness to brands could prove a useful way for them to build initial category relevance and allow them to more successfully integrate into games later on.

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Gaming Experience Map (GEM):putting gaming on the realism and ownership dimensions

When we map out our two dimensions we see that opportunities that fit in the top right quadrant are the most favourable for brand integration

Openness to brands

Openness to brands

Private

Public

Fictional SimulatingGTA V FIFA 15

Realism axis

Ownership axis

Home screen

Single-player

Multi-player

Social platforms

Gaming experience map

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The 3 Es of Brand Integration:

4.1. Exposed

This approach is comparable to internet advertising via overlay and pre-rolls and is

transactional in the sense that the viewer/gamer exchanges their attention for an opportunity to play or free content. The less interactive the moment, the more room there

4

Powersoccer-Pop-up advertising within gameplay

We have identified three types of brand integration each with potential in a gaming environment

is for overt advertising like this. Our gamers didn’t mind this kind of advertising on YouTube and Twitch and felt that it has its place in mobile gaming, but rejected the idea of it on console games where they have often paid to play in a more personal space.

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4.2. Embedded

This type of brand integration can be seen as beneficial to the gamer. If done well, it enhances

immersion in the game and therefore brands become a welcome part of the environment. Brands with a strong pre-existing association with the scenario cannot be changed where Realism is an important characteristic of the game, but generally brands can be embedded into games if they have reasonable category relevance/authenticity.

4.3. Enhanced

Going beyond simply embedding, the brand can add something

more to the gaming experience while the game can bring a new meaning to the brand. Enhanced integrations could be sponsorship of tournaments within games, added features or unlockable items like the Mountain Dew double XP seen below. Interestingly, we found that brand sponsorship can actually add to the credibility of bonus-type features. The concept of enhanced integration can be taken a step further by tapping into the kudos in multiplayer gaming. This could be incredibly powerful in promoting the brand to players who gain the bonus and to players who observe it and aspire to win recognition themselves. If only the best players can unlock a brand for their team or avatar, this turns the brand into an aspirational status symbol, helping to cement or shift brand perceptions among key target groups.

NBA 2K15-Gameplay screenshot, Sprite logo embedded

HALO 4-Redeem codes from products to gain double XP points within the game

FIFA15- Gameplay screenshot, Barclays logo embedded

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Epilogue At the start of this paper, we asked whatmakes gaming so engaging? At least in part, we see its strength as being its flexibility. So when gamers want it to, it can be a personal story-driven experience just for them, while at the same time it can switch to being a wide open, interactive opportunity for people to socialise and even show off. If brands can understand these different roles and rules, finding ways to create unique value for the gaming audience, then gaming really does offer a special opportunity to them.

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For more information please contact:

James Burke +44 (0) 207 160 5875 +44 (0) 790 133 0849 james.burke@kantarmedia.com 222 Gray’s Inn Road, London,WC1X 8HB, UK56 5500